Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has stressed talks as the only way out of any crisis, including the present Tarai agitation. He told journalists in Biratnagar on Sunday that he was not in favour of using force in the Tarai as the resumed protests in some parts of it, including his hometown Biratnagar, entered their sixth day. He appealed once again to the agitating groups to come for talks. Koirala’s spirit is not misplaced. But the continuation of violent protests by the Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum (MJF) even after its key demands were met through last Friday’s constitutional amendment strikes ominous notes, strengthening suspicions of its hidden motives. The amendment provides more seats for the Terai in the constituent assembly (CA), taking the region’s share to 49 per cent of the total, a federal structure, and an “inclusive proportionate representation in all organs of the state”. The MJF burnt a copy of the amendment, saying that the changes were inadequate. Four agitating Janajati groups also objected, accusing the government of “deceiving them in the name of talks and bypassing them”.

The MJF now says, “A federal structure without a regional and ethnic autonomy does not hold any significance”. It also argues that only a fully proportional representation can guarantee the participation of the “excluded” groups in all state structures, including the CA. Its leaders have also said they protested as they were not consulted before the amendment. But it only embodied the Prime Minister’s pledges to the nation made recently, which the MJF had welcomed as “positive”. The second-phase amendment is to incorporate the suggestions of various political parties and the conclusions of the talks with various groups. But the talks have not taken place because of the MJF’s unfair pre-conditions, including the resignation of home minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula. In this context, the PM rightly said, “If resignation were the right solution to the Tarai problem, I would be ready to quit office myself”. Strangely enough, the MJF, the supporters of the erstwhile royal regime, and a certain small section of the Nepali Congress are unanimous in demanding Sitaula’s resignation.

The question of how the federal structure is to be constituted should be left to the CA. The electoral system for the CA is half proportional representation and half the existing system. The argument that it will not be adequately representative has no basis in fact. Rather, the MJF and the four agitating Janajati groups need to do some soul-searching as to whether they represent the majority of the Madhesis and the Janajatis. If so, they will dominate the CA and can make the constitution of their dream if they fielded their candidates in the CA polls — with 49 per cent CA seats for the Tarai and the Janajatis accounting for a sizable part of the national population. But nobody can guarantee them everything they want right now, when the CA polls, the settler of all such issues and disputes, are just three months away. In the meantime, the government cannot be expected to look on helplessly when the agitators resort to violence and destruction.